No More Kings
| No More Kings | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Pop rock |
| Years active | 2006 - present |
| Labels | Astonish Records |
| Website | www.nomorekings.com |
No More Kings are the Los Angeles-based musical collaboration of singer/songwriter Pete Mitchell and producer/songwriter Neil Robins. No More Kings' music is known for its frequent references to figures in pop culture, most notably Johnny Lawrence from The Karate Kid, Michael and K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider, Johnny 5 from Short Circuit, and Dungeons and Dragons. The band's songs are written by Mitchell along with his longtime friend Neil Robins of the Louisville-based band Dirt Poor Robins.
The name "No More Kings" comes from an episode of Schoolhouse Rock!, one of many of No More Kings' inspirations. The particular episode dealt with the Pilgrims leaving England, seeking freedom and independence.
Pete studied fine art in college and has worked for Disney and the Jim Henson Company; he is an accomplished animator and also speaks Japanese. He designed the interior album art for the band's first album as well as the album art and packaging for their second album. Pete claims his main sources of musical inspiration are the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Radiohead, Billy Joel, Beck, and Genesis.
Winner of the 7th annual Independent Music Awards Vox Pop vote for best Pop/Rock album "No More Kings" AND also winner of Band Website of the year.
No More Kings got much of their exposure from their 2007 music video "Sweep the Leg", which is presented as a continuation of the 1984 film The Karate Kid and features appearances by nearly the entire original cast, with the notable exception of the late Pat Morita, who portrayed Mr. Miyagi in the film. Martin Kove reprises his role as Sensei Kreese, and actors who played the Cobra Kai members in the 1984 film, Ron Thomas, Rob Garrison, and Tony O'Dell are also part of the cast, while Chad McQueen did not reprise his role. William Zabka, who played villain Johnny Lawrence in the movie, directed the video. Pat E. Johnson, who was the martial arts director for the 1984 The Karate Kid as well as the martial arts director for Bruce Lee, worked on this video. Dennis Haskins and Liza Snyder also make an appearance. Sweep the Leg was also featured on Sony's MLB 08: The Show.
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Wikipedia